National

This brief provides timely information on the economic contributions of sub-Saharan African Immigrants, a group that has been given relatively little attention in immigration research. A major theme is that African immigrants are making contributions larger than their numbers would suggest. The authors calculate that, in 2015, African immigrants had approximately $40.3 billion in spending power and paid $14.8 billion in federal, state, and local taxes. African immigrants tend to be in their prime working age and have a much higher labor force participation rate than U.S.

The passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act in 2015, the successor legislation to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, provides new opportunities to integrate early childhood education and care (ECEC) with K-12 education. This has special importance for dual language learners who now represent 32 percent of all children under the age of 5. This report details all of the mechanisms available under the Act to strengthen ECEC for immigrant children.

This report examines the ways in which selected school districts across the United States are providing services for immigrant and refugee students who are high school aged, particularly those entering school with limited formal education in their country of origin. Based on research and feedback from schools participating in the Learning Network for Newcomer Youth Success, the author focuses on a few key points.

The authors of this brief argue that while the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program (DACA) has had a positive impact both on the lives of the undocumented immigrants who signed up for it and on the country as a whole, it is not enough, and an updated DREAM act should be passed that provides a lasting reform of the nation's immigration laws.

In order to maximize the potential of foreign-born workers in the U.S., policy makers and practitioners in the workforce development field must first understand the diverse characteristics, assets and needs of immigrants. This report provides a detailed portrait of the foreign-born working population in the U.S., emphasizing sociodemographic characteristics, immigration status, geographic distribution, and levels of education and training.

The Trump administration seeks to make drastic cuts to America's family-based immigration system and uses the pejorative term "chain migration" to refer to the immigration of close family members. This paper by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) describes the categories of relatives who are eligible to come to the U.S. through the family immigration system and the various hoops they must jump through before being awarded an immigrant visa.

Immigrants' use of early childhood care and education has been the topic of numerous studies, but what factors drive immigrant caregivers' use of these services? In this report, the authors use National Survey of Early Care and Education data to explore child-care decisions of immigrant and U.S.-born families. Noting that the most salient differences are not always between immigrant and non-immigrant parents, the authors emphasize the distinction between children of recent immigrants with low English proficiency (LEP) and children of U.S.

This "commentary" piece challenges the argument that legislation to regularize the status of DREAMers will adversely affect the job prospects of U.S.-born millennials. The authors bring forth three main arguments to support their position. First, DREAMers represent a very small share of the overall millennial population nation-wide (about 1 percent); second, DREAMers tend to be concentrated in states like California, Texas, Illinois, New York, and Florida. These states account for just 33 percent of Black and 28 percent of White millennials.

The H-1B temporary work classification is an immigration status that allows U.S. employers to hire foreign nationals to work in a "specialty occupation" or a highly skilled position that typically requires a bachelor's degree. An employer applying for an H-1B worker must satisfy the prevailing wage requirement for hiring an immigrant worker, i.e.

Despite the fear and misunderstanding surrounding the issue of immigration, little research has explored the long-term economic impact of immigration--especially in places that have historically experienced high immigration levels. "Population diversity as a crucial source for long-term prosperity in the U.S." examines whether a more diverse population encourages or hinders economic growth compared to a more homogeneous population. Relying on birthplace data at the county level, the study analyzes U.S.